Boat show sunshine brings out crowds  and buyers

John Nelander

Saturday

Sep 24, 2016 at 12:01 AMSep 24, 2016 at 3:26 PM

Things were looking up Saturday – for yacht brokers and visitors – at the Palm Beach International Boat Show. After two days of sweltering heat and a severe thunderstorm Friday that had people scrambling for cover, the West Palm Beach waterfront was awash in sunshine.

Bigger crowds mean more buyers, and that potentially means more sales of the crowd-pleasing, high-end, luxury yachts on display.

By Friday night, brokers for Worth Avenue Yachts in Palm Beach had sold two boats – the 147-foot Skyfall II, which was listed for 13 million euros, and the 163-foot Anedigmi, which had a price tag of 8.5 million euros. A third yacht, the 103-foot Sashay, sold for an undisclosed price, they announced Saturday.

Ten other luxury yachts listed by the company were on exhibit, and Worth Avenue broker Noell Vawter couldn’t help but be optimistic. He said deals were close on two more.

"Today’s the big day," he said sitting aboard the 116-foot Happy Hour, which boasts five staterooms and lists for $5.5 million. "Saturday is ‘lots-of-folks’ day, usually starting about noon."

Vawter is a veteran of boat shows, including the world’s largest in Fort Lauderdale, but he says the Palm Beach show is his favorite.

The setting is ideal with plenty of parking and nearby bars and restaurants. "The venue is wonderful. Plus, it only takes about 15 minutes to walk from one side of this show to the other," he said.

"What I’d say about the traffic is that the financial quality of the people at this show is higher, even though the numbers might be lower. There are a lot of buyers running around, but there haven’t been a lot of people. That could have something to do with the weather."

Friday’s storm was so severe it "had us fearing for our lives," he said.

Times were tough for yacht builders and brokers after the economic storm that hit in 2008. But in the last year or so, Vawter said: "Jets, fine homes and yachts are selling like popcorn. People finally decided that the other shoe hasn’t dropped, so let’s go get that boat."

One problem: a tighter supply of yachts because production had slowed.

It takes two to three years to build big, custom-designed luxury yachts, and during the recession, nobody was ordering them. So now inventory is down while demand is up.

It takes at least two people to operate one of these luxury yachts, but crews are bigger, with five or more when you start adding chefs and other service people. Brett Sussman has been captain of the Happy Hour for a year and a half, and often lives on the boat along with a deck hand.

The most challenging part of the job, he said, "is dealing with people’s expectations. And that usually has to do with the weather. When the weather is good, people are happy. The sun sells.

"When it’s raining and miserable – look at the boat show on Friday – everybody disappears.

"Let’s say you’re in the Bahamas for a week and it’s raining. Nobody’s going to be happy. Or you’re in the tropics somewhere on vacation. But it’s all part of the game. People are coming here to get away, so usually their mood lifts."